Riots of Change
by smokepelt
Summary: Allegiant AU. Don't read on unless you've finished! I own none of the original. - My name is Tobias Eaton. My mother has chosen me. The civil war is over. I return to the Bureau, expecting the worst, and get the best. My sister, who I thought was dead, has saved Tris. Maybe my life of violence has come to an end.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I make no promises that I won't rip out your hearts, but I will be a little kinder than Veronica Roth. And this _is_ slightly AU, so don't be too critical, okay?**

_Tobias_

"Where is everyone?" Amar asks, breaking the eerie silence.

We walk through the abandoned security checkpoint without stopping. On the other side, I see Cara. The side of her face is badly bruised, and there's a bandage on her head. But that's not what concerns me. What concerns me is the troubled look on her face.

Uneasy, I voice what we are all thinking. "Where's Tris?" Cara merely shakes her head. I swallow hard and repeat the question more forcefully, "Where is Tris?"

"I'm sorry, Tobias."

There shouldn't have been a rasp in her voice. "Sorry about what?" Christina demands, stepping forward menacingly. "Tell us what happened!" She wants to be reassured, like I do. To not have her nightmares come true. I swallow hard around the growing lump in my throat.

"Tris went into the Weapons Lab instead of Caleb," Cara informs us. "She survived the death serum and set off the memory serum, but she… she was shot." Her eyes well up with tears. "And she didn't survive. I'm so sorry."

Most of the time I can tell when people are lying. This must be a lie, because Tris is still alive. She wouldn't leave me here alone. She wouldn't go into the Weapons Lab instead of–

No. Of course she would have gone into the Weapons Lab instead of Caleb.

Before a haze fully clouds my mind, another achingly familiar voice cuts into the fog of grief. "I never said she passed away, Cara. She's actually quite alive, if not a little injured." I blink past clouded eyes, slowly focusing on a dark brown ponytail and deep sapphire irises.

"Bryn?" My voice is weaker than I want it to be. All at once, the Bureau falls away around us, and I can hear my sister's voice when we were young, saying that not everything is as it seemed.

The same crooked smile from my childhood greets me now. "Hey, Legend."

I rush forward without thinking, clinging onto her like the lifeline she is. "I thought you were dead," I whisper in her ear. Last time I saw her, we were the same height. Now I have at least two inches on her.

"A minute ago you thought Tris was dead," she remarks, pulling away from me.

Christina straightens behind us. "She's alive?"

"Of course. Why would anyone let Tris, or Caleb if it had been him, go into the Weapons Lab alone?" She rolls her eyes. "I'm impulsive, too, but at least I can think things through." Her blue/near-black gaze locks on Cara. "I said I would take her to the infirmary and we would see, not that she died. She did, in fact, live." Her eyes return to the party that returned from Chicago, settling last on me. "Tris lived through the death serum the first time. I believe it was still in the air when David shot her. Once it got into her bloodstream, it would've been able to steal over her body. The gunshot itself wasn't fatal; it actually hit her shoulder. David probably wanted to warn her off, not kill her."

Managing a tiny grin, I comment, "You know how much I love you, right?"

"I would hope so. C'mon. I know you want to see her." She takes the lead, but only Christina and I fall into step with her. Amar and the others have to take care of the memory-wiped Bureau workers.

Tris is unconscious when we reach the infirmary. Caleb sits in a chair at her bedside, torn between guilt and relief. Her blonde hair is splayed across the pillow, fresh gauze wrapped around her shoulder and torso. An IV sticks out of her arm. Bryn moves toward the pouch with the IV fluid and switches something. I want to ask her where she has been all these years, why she let me believe half of our family was dead. She and I had transferred to Dauntless together, but she had disappeared within the first month.

Staring at Tris, though, all those questions flee my mind. I am just happy that Bryn is here, alive and well, and that she managed to save Tris when I couldn't.

"Where is David, anyway?" Christina inquires. I snap out of my daze to pay attention.

It's Caleb who answers. "Somewhere with Nita, I think."

Bryn nods almost imperceptibly. "A lot of the workers were erased, and those who weren't are suddenly being really nice. I guess they realize the depth of what Tris did." She looks at Tris as she speaks. A tiny smile plays at her lips. "I know you're awake now, Prior. I switched the medicine." I am not all that shocked to see Tris's blue-gray eyes open in response.

"Who are you?" she wonders aloud. "I know you saved me, but…"

I come to stand beside Bryn. "My guardian of a sister," I reply, smiling down at Tris. "I heard from Bryn you and David had quite the meeting, huh?"

"Understatement," she mutters, grimacing.

Christina glares at her best friend. "Do you know how stupid you are? You could've been killed doing something like that! You were the one who said that Caleb was the best choice. Unless, suddenly, I'm affected by the memory serum too." Her irritation belies her relief.

Tris closes her eyes once more. "Caleb wouldn't have survived. We both knew that. He was only going to do it for the escape from his guilt at what he'd done to me. And I couldn't let him die like that." Her brother reaches for her hand, and she squeezes it, taking comfort from his quiet presence. "I actually thought I was dead for a while. I saw my mother in that room, and I imagined her coming to bring me to whatever afterlife there is. But then Bryn blocked my vision of her. Seeing her reminded me of what I had to live for."

"Both of you are exhausted, Priors. Caleb, you can take the bed" – Bryn pulls aside a curtain – "on this side of the room. Tris, I'm going to need to steal your boyfriend for a while."

She waves weakly, dismissively. "You better tell Christina to get some rest, too. Otherwise she'll stand guard."

"Alright, I get it," Christina grumbles, weariness tugging at her features. "I'll see you soon, Tris." She leaves the door ajar.

Bryn and I head outside after her, back into the crisp winter chill. Only when we are alone do I realize the complexity of seeing her again. I fold my arms across my chest. "Start talking, Scourge."


	2. Chapter 2

_Bryn_

"Scourge," I sigh. "I don't know how long it's been since I heard that name."

Tobias frowns. "And calling me Legend before… I might not be alive if it wasn't for you. Where have you been all this time?"

I dodge the question. "Remind what my five fears were?" His eyes narrow with suspicion, and I wave my hand dismissively. "Yes, I know you well enough, Four. If you want to treat this strictly as business, we can take this back to Six's room, since she's better at giving judgment with a clear head. But if you want the truth from me, you'll indulge me with my questions." He flinches at his and Tris's other nicknames, knowing I can shut out any former ties with him in order to respond.

His features, so much like my own, soften almost imperceptibly. "I'm sorry, Bryn. You just… you have to realize how weird this is for me."

"You went through it with Mom. I don't see what the problem is." I lean my shoulder against the building, watching him carefully. He still has not released his defensive stance, and that worries me.

"I saw a body with her!" he exclaims, uncrossing his arms long enough to scrub a hand over his weary face. "You just disappeared. It was actually better for me to say you died than to deal with the consequences of you leaving." I open my mouth, but he beats me to it. "Of course I don't remember your five fears. You could have been a legend, too, like Tris and I are. Instead you vanished before anyone could record anything in your file. And I had to go on with my life, knowing that my father would come to get me sometime for switching factions, having your image always in the back of my mind. How could you protect me if you weren't there?"

For a second, he reminds me of the little brother I left behind. Eleven months apart, he and I had gone through nearly everything together. Until I was taken to the Bureau.

"You protected me, too. More times than I care to admit." I sigh. "I was always there for you, Legend. After the Dauntless initiation, I went to Erudite, to try to understand what was going on. I had seen the changes in our faction, too – both of them. Abnegation and Dauntless weren't like they used to be. In Erudite, I didn't find out much before they caught on and ordered me dead. I ran to Candor, because I figured that those who were always seeking the truth would be able to tell me something."

Something flickers in his eyes. "What happened?" he queries softly.

I flash a wry grin. "Some Candor decided to take a bounty offer from the Erudite. I had to move again. I would've loved to come home to you, trust me. But I headed for Amity instead, knowing they could get me out of the gate. Outside the gate, the Bureau came for me. I've been here ever since."

"That's not exactly true, is it? I don't think you would constantly watch the cameras just to see how I was doing." He's as observant as he used to be.

Tracing one of the scars on the back of my left hand, I can only shrug. "Sometimes I went into the fringe; sometimes I was flown out to other cities. And whenever I could, I snuck back into Chicago, because I needed to see my little brother who was top of his class. I was there on Visiting Day, when Tris introduced Natalie to you." He ducks his head, a smirk creeping at his lips. "You were drunk enough that if I came to see you, you might not have remembered it in the morning. I didn't want to give you something only to have you doubt what you saw, though, so I stayed in the shadows." I want him to joke around. It would make everything easier.

Finally looking up at me again, Tobias gazes at me sorrowfully. "During the simulation?" he rasps.

"Who do you think helped Caleb, Natalie, and Andrew? I was getting whoever I could into safe houses. I saw the last wave of the Dauntless and knew you and Tris had to be there, but–"

He swallows hard. "You could have saved me. Tris and her parents. You could have stopped the simulation." Even though he wants to be mad at me, he can't. Part of him knows already I did what I could.

I see him shiver an instant before he drops onto one knee. I lunge forward and wrap my arms around him. "Legend, hey, it's okay." I smooth his dark hair out of his face, a habit I expect to keep all my life. "Tobias, none of that was your fault. Don't forget how much you've accomplished since then." I rest my forehead against his temple, kneeling beside him. "You're a Dauntless leader. You proved that not everyone who seems Divergent actually is. They checked me after they found out about you, to see if I was the same. You've done more things than I ever expected my baby brother to do."

"Touching," the voice from both our nightmares cuts in.

At the same time, the two of us launch back to our feet. "What are you doing here, Marcus?" I growl, subtly handing Tobias one of my guns. I undo the safety on the other.

Our father smirks. "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to reclaim my family."


End file.
